Previously
Killian confronts Eleanora about her relationship with Julian, insulting Julian's character until Eleanora passionately defends him by recalling how he protected her from a bully in childhood.
Even after Killian left, Eleanora kept puffing out breaths of anger.
What had she even done to give him that idea?
Eleanora had to admit that he was an immensely popular man. From the very first glance, he had every quality needed to inspire admiration.
Yet she had actually spoken with him. And most people who spoke with him ended up frowning the moment they heard his name. Eleanora was merely one of those normal people.
Eleanora sank into her chair in defeat, then downed some cold water to steady herself.
Perhaps it was the cold water, or perhaps simply the passage of time, but her head and heart quickly cooled.
The relationship she had painstakingly built with him, walking on eggshells around his every mood, had crumbled in a single instant.
Who could have imagined all that patience would collapse so easily?
( ‘What am I going to tell Julian?’ )
Julian had been so relieved when she told him she was on closer terms with Killian than before.
What if she told him now, after only half a day… no, less than an hour, that she had fought with him? He would be crushed with disappointment.
( ‘Should I go to Lord Blackwell right now and apologize, saying I spoke harshly without meaning to because I was so shocked?’ )
No, in truth, she had not said anything that harsh.
Had she cursed at him? Had she insulted him personally?
Even while feeling humiliated, she had chosen her words carefully and uttered only the gentlest phrasing. In fact, she was almost amazed at her own restraint.
Yet the expression on Killian’s face when he heard the truth had been anything but ordinary.
‘He looked as if he’d been struck on the back of the head with an iron hammer.’
Eleanora felt an acute sense of injustice.
She was certain that if Killian came back to her and spouted nonsense like, “The fact that you’re justifying yourself so desperately means you still have feelings for me, doesn’t it?”
Then she would give him a far harsher piece of her mind.
Even without hearing such words, she was currently in a state of sheer agitation.
In this state, even a conversation that could go well was bound to end in ruin. She needed to keep her distance from him for a few days and calm down first….
The dreadful reality suddenly struck her: she had to visit his mansion. She collapsed over the table, clutching her head.
As for Killian, he sat on the windowsill, the image of Eleanora clenching her fists and screaming in his face replaying in his mind.
‘“I don’t know how long you’ve been imagining this absurd delusion! I don’t care about Lord Blackwell in the slightest! There is someone else I love!”’
Did she truly love another man, and not him?
Hadn't she always smiled sweetly at him like a contented cat?
Hadn't she hit someone for his sake?
Hadn't she constantly worried over him?
Hadn't she held him without hesitation whenever the need arose?
And no matter what he said to her, no matter how he tried to push her away, hadn't she remained steadfast at his side?
Could a person do all that without love?
Even if she had approached him out of self-interest, it would have been better for her to keep pretending to like him.
Yet Eleanora had recoiled in horror, as if she had brushed against a repulsive bug.
( ‘There is someone else she loves?’ )
Who could it be?
Even if she had loved someone else all this time, wasn't it only natural that her heart would turn toward him the moment she laid eyes on him?
Wasn't that entirely natural, like bees drawn to a fragrant flower?
( ‘Doesn't she have eyes to see?!’ )
Killian felt a burning tightness in his chest.
Stranger still was that he had not felt this burning sensation in a very long time. Even the affair with Lady Delamour had not provoked such a feeling.
( ‘Strange.’ )
Under normal circumstances, he should have fainted in some pitiful display.
Without realizing it, he searched for the small glass jar filled with the pickled ginger slices Eleanora had given him.
He gripped the jar in his hand, but in the end, he did not open it.
“And why should I even eat this?! It was made by a woman who doesn't even love me!”
( ‘She rattled me for no reason.’ )
He went back and sat by the window.
He leaned his body against the cool glass, hoping to extinguish the heat building inside him, but try as he might, it would not subside.
That man Eleanora had fallen in love with.
True, Killian did not know every resident of this town, so thinking about it on his own would yield no answers….
Yet her words came ringing back in his ears.
( ‘“Even though he knew his opponent was stronger, he stood by me for my sake. He was more wonderful than any prince in any fairy tale.”’ )
Killian’s eyes wavered for a moment as he recalled her shy smile when she said that.
Soon, however, Julian’s foolish face flashed in his mind, treading cautiously around his reactions, and Killian scoffed.
She had only said that to defend her friend.
Besides, it had not happened recently; it was merely a single incident from their childhood.
Could she really still love him to this day over just one act….
( ‘“I will never forget it as long as I live.”’ )
Eleanora’s words echoed in his mind once more.
( ‘Ah, don't tell me she truly still loves him because of that old memory?’ )
Was that even possible?
That scrawny fool with neither a build nor a brain to speak of?
Killian rose from his seat, exhaling in exasperation.
This was better, anyway. He had been in an awkward position to begin with, dreading that she might fall for him.
Besides, they were quite well-suited. A “female” doctor who could only find appreciation in the countryside, and that idiot who seemed to have a screw loose… what a perfect pair!
He clutched the area above his stomach as a sharp pain flared within it.
Though the stomach lay a bit further to the left, why did the pit of his stomach ache so dreadfully today?
In the end, Killian spent the entire night awake, staring at the ceiling with exhausted eyes.
When morning came, Owen urged him to eat, but he had no appetite whatsoever.
So he claimed he was going to sleep, merely whiling away the hours.
Killian answered in a rasp.
Startle—!
Killian shot upright, clutching his blanket to his chest, and asked,
He asked without catching his breath. Owen tilted his head in surprise,
The tension drained from Killian’s hands, which had been gripping the blanket so tightly they nearly tore it.
( ‘Ah… so she didn't come looking for me.’ )
Of course. Why would she look for him in the first place? There was no reason for that.
Killian shouted suddenly at the top of his lungs. Thoroughly startled, Owen scratched his cheek in embarrassment and promised he would do just that.
As the footsteps receded, Killian realized with a jolt that he had been so lost in thought that he had not even noticed Owen enter.
( ‘Get a grip, please.’ )
Killian threw himself back onto the bed and forced his eyes shut. Yet sleep would not come.
All he could think was, ‘So… that woman is inside this mansion right now.’
Damn you, Eleanora Winter!
Get out of my head, please!
It took a great deal of courage for Eleanora to enter the mansion.
Even though she had heard that Killian would not come out to greet her, she could not stop worrying about the possibility of running into him.
Fortunately, Emily, whom she was meeting for the first time today, was a gentle, comforting presence, even if she was shy.
Emily asked cautiously. Eleanora offered a soft smile,
Emily smiled shyly and continued,
She delicately covered her mouth with a bashful smile.
Eleanora said as she packed her bag.
Emily looked at Eleanora with eyes slightly wide. Busy gathering her things, Eleanora did not notice that look, and rose to her feet.
Owen, who stepped into the drawing room at that moment, asked with regret in his voice.
She chuckled softly and added,
Watching the two exchange words with such familiarity, Emily tilted her head slightly in puzzlement.